Sunday, September 24, 2017

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/24: “The Yankees Were My Daddy”

Only five players in the history of the New York Yankees have ever hit 40 home runs in consecutive seasons. On this day in 2012 Curtis Granderson, the fifth player in franchise history, joined Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Mickey Mantle in a 6-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Also on this day in 2011, speaking of home runs, the Yankees honored and celebrated the 50th anniversary of Roger Maris hitting his record breaking 61st home run on the season. Derek Jeter carried the actual bat that Maris used to hit the home run out to the plate in a pre-game ceremony while the fan who caught the ball, Sal Durante, brought the actual ball to home plate as well.

Finally on this day in 2004 the New York Yankees beat Red Sox pitcher so bad in Fenway Park that Martinez called the Yankees his daddy, literally. The Yankees fans did not let Pedro live that one down as chants of “Who’s your daddy?” rained in the Bronx during every Martinez start after that.